Posts in Category: Big Cypress NP

Great Egret Agression

On January 15, 2015 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - action, animals, Big Cypress NP, birds, Florida, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, wildlife

Great Egret. Big Cypress National Preserve

After my Walk on the Wildside with Everglades Nature Tours in Big Cypress National Preserve, we spent the afternoon exploring Turner River Road between the Tamiami Trail and Alligator Alley…an interesting trek through the depths of Big Cypress. We stopped when we saw birds or wildlife. This Great Egret was putting on quite a show. Egrets are not generally territorial…they are colony nesters and you see many nests in the same tree…but this bird had issues with the other birds in its tree. You can not see them in this frame, but there was a White Ibis directly above the Egret and one directly below it.

Sony HX400V at 1200mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/640th @ ISO 80 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.

Gulf Fritillary

On January 5, 2015 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - animals, Big Cypress NP, butterflies and insects, butterfly, Florida, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day

Gulf Fritillary, Big Cypress National Preserve

There were, as I have said before, not a lot of butterflies in December in the Everglades, so I made the most of the few we did see. The Gulf Fritillary was the second most common sighting, after the abundant Zebra Longwings. This specimen is just a bit worn, but still bright enough to capture they eye and the imagination.

Sony HX400V at just into the Clear Image Zoom range beyond 1200mm equivalent field of view (for the slightly closer focus). Shutter preferred. 1/640th @ ISO 80 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.

 

Big Cypress National Preserve

On December 11, 2014 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - Big Cypress NP, Florida, hdr, Pic of the Day, swamp
Cypress Hummock, Big Cypress NP, FL

Cypress Hummock, Big Cypress NP, FL

Yesterday we were treated to a walk (wade) in Big Cypress National Preserve. We went with Everglades Nature Tours, the only company licensed for off the trail walking in the Big Cypress. As I hinted, it was actually more of a wade than a walk as we were in water most of the time. But we got to see the inside of 3 Cypress Heads, or hummocks, and that is something most never do. We found orchids, not blooming this time of year, but full of promise for the spring, and we got up-close and in among the biggest cypress in the neighborhood…those that grow in the ponds at the center of the hummocks where it is always wet. This collage shows a vertical panorama and a horizontal view. It is both strange and wonderful country.

Sony HX400V. Vertical sweep panorama and in-camera HDR. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet. Assembled in Phototastic Pro.